Carrie-Anne Moss

I discovered some deeply disturbing news yesterday – another great film is set for an unnecessary remake. This time, it’s the turn of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Memento’, the intelligent and mysterious indie-thriller from 2000. As I tried to organise my thoughts on this – beyond typing the words “NOOOO”, “Why, Hollywood, why?” and excessive use of the shocked face emoji – I pulled together a few reasons why such a remake is a terrible idea.

For one, ‘Memento’ is already a bloody fantastic film. The tale of a man suffering from crippling short-term memory loss, who utilises an unusual method to help him remember key details that will eventually lead him to his wife’s murderer, is a beautifully original and perfectly executed idea from Christopher Nolan. It is a film which warrants re-watches aplenty but certainly does not warrant a remake. The original cast is headed up by the incomparable Guy Pearce, with support from the inimitable Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano, the latter of which is in a league of his own in this film. I find it so hard to imagine anyone else playing these characters, that I feel a little sorry for the actors cast to fill the originals’ boots.

Writer and director, Christopher Nolan, is currently one of the most popular visionary filmmakers of our time. Not only is this the man who gave life to a gritty, modern Dark Knight trilogy, but his last five films feature on the all-time box office records. Someone this popular is bound to inspire viewers to look at his back catalogue, meaning ‘Memento’ is still being discovered. Ergo, remake not needed – let the world find the original.

15 years is not nearly long enough for a film still achieving ‘classic’ status to be remade. The fact that Christopher Nolan isn’t involved only adds to the ammunition against Memento ‘take two’. My head says I should reserve judgement and give it a chance, but my heart says hell no! Who ever heard of a good remake anyway?